This is a daily tally of all the New Era caps I own, wear and pay tribute to the long history of teams and players who have donned the cap before me. Almost every hat I own has a special marking recognizing players, stats or special events within the history and era of the team and style I sport. It's a mix of fun and history as presented through my eyes and mind because I love the game so much, and wish to honor those who have played before as I cheer for those of the present.

Saturday, February 23, 2013

February 22 (late)- Baltimore Orioles

Back on January 3 I had written about a hat very similar to
this in lieu of the University
of Oregon Ducks taking
down the Kansas State Wildcats in the Fiesta Bowl. After the vicious drubbing
the Ducks gave the Wildcats I was hoping this version of a custom 1901
Baltimore Orioles cap would give the Duck baseball team the same luck for their
home opener against the Loyola-Marymount Lions. Even with my girlfriend Angie
Kinderman in attendance with me, luck was certainly not on our side.

I’ve made it a habit not to mark up my custom hats as they
are than until itself, customs. No team ever really wore the hat, but based on
the color and logo scheme one can draw their own conclusions from it. I saw
this hat about three days after I had received the original black panel, yellow
“O” and green bill hat thinking the same thing as when I purchased the first,
“This hat is awesome!” I had it sitting with the rest of my hoard for the last
month and a half, all the while waiting for today to roll around. Going into
tonight’s game the Ducks were ranked fifth in the AP poll, their highest in
team history. Not too bad after rejoining the PAC-10/12 in 2008 after a long
hiatus. Rain had been pouring all day long, but the Oregon Baseball Twitter
account assured everyone that the game was still on. Angie and I stopped for a
beer at Max’s Tavern and headed on our way to PK Park.

It was especially cold tonight, but not freezing. The rain
was still coming down at a light drizzle as we entered the park. The grounds
crew was removing the tarp the covered the pitchers mound; oddly enough the
only spot of real dirt on the field. The national anthem was just getting
underway as we headed down to our seats. It was around this time that the rain
miraculously stopped; not showing itself again until after the game. The game
started out fine, but not exactly in an utmost favorable way for Oregon. At the end of
the first two innings the Ducks had left six runners stranded while Jake Reed,
the starting pitcher, did what he could to keep the Lions at bay. Angie and I
bundled up with one another, trying to keep warm. As the game progressed the
Lions drew first blood in the fourth, and then tagged on four more runs in the
fifth. Despite the Ducks’ best effort, they lost to the Lions 7-2.

This was not how I imagined my last night with Angie would
go after the wonderful week I spent with her, but this was the least of my
worries. We got in the car and headed north to my parents’ house in Portland to crash for the night so I could get her to her
plane which heads back to Miami
at noon on Saturday. Angie had done her best to keep things together, but I
could see teardrops falling from her eyes as I drove into the wet night. I
tried to come up with something, but I was still stewing about a recent blog post
from 3UP 3DOWN, a group of friends of mine I had made over the last year based
on our MLB Fan Cave
applications. I asked he about the situation: They had written a draft style
post about all 30 of the new batting practice hats, something I was about to do
starting on Monday one at a time. My issue with this merely came in the form
that all of them have been aware of my hat a day post and they wrote it and
sent it to me without asking if I was going to write about any of them. I
realize that I don’t own the market on talking about New Era hats; however, if
someone you know, who is vying for a prestigious position you held the previous
year with Major League Baseball, writes about a similar topic and then says
that they were merely trying to “compliment” what you’ve done without
consultation, wouldn’t you be a bit stewed about it? Angie and I looked at
every angle of this problem, all the while trying to keep the focus off of our
impending separation.

We got to about the halfway point, Salem, when I noticed that my car was losing
velocity. I quickly down shifted and moved off of the freeway to a safe area. I
got to about ¾ of the way up the off ramp when my car keeled out. We were
stuck. I got on the horn to AAA, got a tow truck out and the guy at the wheel
checked things out. After trying to turn the car over we both came to the
conclusion that my timing belt had snapped. The feeling of absolute failure had
washed over me. He hooked up the car while Angie and I waited in the truck. He
hopped back in and we headed back on our way to Portland. I stared out the window,
thoughtless and stroking Angie’s hand, for about 10 miles before the silence
was broken by the driver. We chatted about the car for a moment and then the
conversation somehow shifted to where we were from. He had mentioned he was
from the West Bay while I said I was from the East. I
then made a remark about his San Francisco Giants hat and the conversation
carried on amongst all three of us from there. All the worry and stress slipped
away over the next 35 miles.

Baseball, I’ve found, unites people. It doesn’t matter if
you’re rivals or comrades, the mere love of the game can turn the worst of
situations into a positive. Without baseball I wouldn’t have met Angie last
September. Without baseball I wouldn’t have met my friends. Without baseball I
really wouldn’t be the person I am today. I’ll get over my differences with my
friends, because that is what they are, my friends. Differences may break out,
but I’ll find a way to come to a resolution after a good night’s sleep. In the
morning I’ll bid Angie a safe flight, but not a goodbye, as we’ll see each
other again soon when I visit her in Miami
around the start of the regular baseball season. Life is just weird sometimes,
but we cope with adversity and move on. Just like tomorrow I’ll get my car
situation and get back to Eugene
to write my next post just as Angie makes it back home. Things always get
better if you want them to.

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About Me

My name is Benjamin Christensen and I am a recent graduate of University of Oregon in Eugene. I have two Bachelor's Degrees in News/Editorial Journalism and Magazine Journalism with a minor in English. I've been writing ever since I was a kid, mostly doing creative writing, but I've been going strong since I was 15 when I was able to land an interview with Grant Hill of the Detroit Pistons for the high school newspaper I was working for in Bakersfield, California. From that moment of awesomeness I knew that doing something that involved writing and sports was my way in life.
I am probably best known for being a cast member of Season 2 of the MLB Fan Cave. You know, the awesomely bearded guy with all the tattoos. I have an in depth knowledge and perspective on baseball and love to immerse myself into the culture of the game with the fans, players and newcomers.